The 411

New Martin Luther King Audio Found in Attic

artin Luther King, Jr.’s body of speeches and recordings got bigger a few months ago, when a Chattanooga, Tennessee man rooting around his father’s attic found an audio reel of a 1960 interview of King, the Associated Press reports.

Stephen Toll found the recording while looking through dusty old boxes and is planning to sell it at a private sale arranged by a New York broker this month. The recording is one of the few of King talking about a trip he made to Africa about a month before the interview. In it, King tells Tull’s father how African leaders viewed racism in the U.S.

“I had the opportunity to talk with most of the major leaders of the new independent countries of Africa, and also leaders in countries that are moving toward independence,” he said. “And I think all of them agree that in the United States we must solve this problem of racial injustice if we expect to maintain our leadership in the world.”

About the Author

Kelly Virella

Kelly Virella lives in an East Harlem walk-up with her husband, her bicycle and her books. She's worked as a journalist for 11 years and started this website during the summer of 2011. She fell in love with New York City during her first visit here as a 16-year-old and finally made good on her promise to move here in April 2010.